Feature Me Friday: Unraveled Revelry

This week we have Elizabeth Revels of Unraveled Revelry
from Louisville, KY.

Who is Unraveled Revelry?
Just one little gal trying to change the face of consumerism and
live a better life by doing things for myself. The things I make are
useful, but also artistic. I feel like the beauty of life is found in the
everyday. Unraveled Revelry grew out of a desire to not only
eliminate the waste I saw in my life, but to offer others the ability
to limit waste in theirs. When people around me started wanting
reusable bags I knew there had been a shift in popular thinking.
I love to sew. It is both technical and creative at the same time.
I really enjoy the puzzles that present themselves in what I do.
Really it's me just getting to do what I love.




What’s the first thing you remember making?
I was around five years old. I am sure I made things beforehand,
but I don't remember them. The first thing of note was this little
draw string purse I made with my grandmother. It made me so happy.

Why work with recycled materials?
Waste is a devastating tragedy we can't afford to overlook. Growing
up with an appreciation for secondhand has influenced the way
I live and the way I craft. To be stylish as a kid I had to learn to
"Frankenstein" things. It was very empowering. Keeping disposables
from being the everyday norm is something I have a passion for.
So for me it's mostly environmental. The environment as a whole
as well as the one I grew up in. Good stewardship is a virtue I hold dear.

Where do you work?
I have a small studio in my apartment. I look forward to having
more space. It seems like my fabric stash is always threatening
to avalanche on me. It certainly pushes one to be very organized.



How do you get from A to Z?
Each of my pieces are dictated by the fabrics used to make it.
From the time I choose my fabrics, it's all kind of like a puzzle.
Where do I need to make the cut for straps? To reuse that pocket
or make a new one? I am getting ready to experiment with batching.
A whole new concept for me.

What are your favorite tools?
My utility knife- it's the best seam ripper I have. My snipes for
cutting close to fabric (all my seams are hand finished). I found
these craft rulers that have cork on the back and they are great for
holding the fabric in place when using the cutting wheel. Most
of all my 1920's industrial singer. It makes the magic happen.

What music do you listen to while you’re working?
I listen to a lot of different things. I'm really
into my music collection. The top ones would be: My morning
jacket (famous local boys), Iron & Wine, Calexico, The White
Stripes, The dead weather, the raconteurs (can you tell I like
Jack White?), Pearl Jam, The kills…


What are the five best things you’ve purchased on Etsy
and where did you find them?
I don't buy a whole lot. I'm kind of frugal that way. However,
I started a tradition three years ago to buy myself something from
Etsy with the money I get for my birthday. Thank you family
and friends.
A beautiful print from Tollipop
A great walnut hair pick I use everyday from Wooden Treasures
An awesome recycled skateboard pendant from O'Blue
There are many artists out there that I want to get things from
and the next two are:
Girl Savage and The Generation



Read any good books lately?
It may sound funny coming from a seamstress, but
I really enjoyed the DIY book "How to Sew a Button" By Erin
Bried. I am currently reading Handmade Nation.

Been to any great exhibits?
Every couple of months I go to the Arts and
Crafts museum here in Louisville.

Who inspires you?
When it comes to sewing my greastest inspiration comes from
my grandmothers. Both have always taught me the value of thrift
and secondhand. My Memaw is a seamstress and the one who
taught me to sew. She is an amazing woman who once made a
kimono for my cousin from a picture. My Nana ran a large business
and taught me to be independent. She is my biggest influence to
go into business for myself.



What do you do for fun?
Bon fires, hanging with friends over good food and brews, singing,
playing around at making music. Reading a lot of how to books
and scribbling notes in journals. Playing strategy games, brain
teasers and puzzle games. Gardening. Camping and hiking.
Crafting of course.

Besides Etsy, where can we find you work?
I am talking to a gallery about having some of my
things but it's not final yet. So right now Etsy is the only
place to find me.



How do you promote your work?
I have just started a blog: A Self Made Life
I use Facebook: Unraveled Revelry
and Twitter: ElizabethRevels
This December I will be featured in a local magazine
article.

Have any words of wisdom?
It can be scary to venture out on your own, but
just do it. Even small steps will get you there.

What’s in your future?
Self sufficiency. Living the life I love. I am
looking forward to branching out into the craft fair world. I am
working toward being a full time artist. Where else can you meet
such awesome people.

Feature Me Friday:

This week we have Vicki of Wearwolf and MyFathersHouse,
from Tucson, AZ.



Vicki is now obsessive about making cool stuff from
recycled/found objects. Giving things new life as beautiful
keepsakes is very rewarding! Using the process to teach future
generations to look at trash differently is the main goal.




I'll be the one walking along the side of the road picking up
every tiny item someone else has discarded as trash!



The recycling of metal is labor intensive. All cans are washed, dried
and cut. Cutting also includes "flesh" and I go through many bandages!
I then emboss, shape, paint, sand, distress, and/or file each piece into
a little creation of art. Add fun images in bottle caps or lovely glass
charms wire wrapped by hand and "Voila", a little piece of personal
wearable art!

Feature Me Friday: Rachael Brooke

This week we have Rachael Brooke Winkley of
Rachael Brooke Art Jewelry, from Madison, Wisconsin.

Who is Rachael Brooke?
Rachael Brooke is a one-woman art jewelry studio.
My name is Rachael Brooke Winkley.
Rachael Brooke Art Jewelry is my business name which leads
people to assume that Brooke is my last name. My design aesthetic
is “high-style/low-tech” which means I design and craft stylish
jewelry using low-impact metal smith tools and techniques.
I have three design lines in my Etsy shop. The Classic Collection
has a simply elegant design focus. It’s a line of beaded jewelry
(semi-precious stones and cultured fresh water pearls) on my
handmade sterling and 14k gold-filled findings.
The Simply Striking Collection is my line of hammered sterling
and 14k gold filled wire jewelry. The Vintage Redux Collection
features jewelry made from vintage, antique or simply
second-hand metal objects: candy, tea and tobacco tins; aluminum
drinkware; serving trays and such. The sterling silver wire I use
in all my jewelry is 100% recycled.



What’s the first thing you remember making?
Geez Louise, I have no idea.
We were always making stuff in my family. My dad and I would
make Christmas ornaments and little sculptures out of salt dough.
He was finishing his sculpture/art history BFA when I was in
grade school. My mom made clothes and stuffed animals for me.
She was finishing college, too. We were broke, but I had no clue
back then. Doing without or making do with what we had fueled
their creativity, I guess. I also remember making gowns for my
Barbies out of plastic produce bags and twist ties.

Why work with recycled materials?
I think I may have answered that above. My parents taught me to.
Besides, it’s much more of a design challenge to take discarded
materials and try to find one more use for them.

Where do you work?
In May, I became an artist-in-residence at Mendota Mental Health
Institute on Madison’s north side. I’m part of a group of artists
who volunteer to teach art classes for the patients in exchange
for very low rent on our studios. The facility is located on a hill
overlooking Lake Mendota. My studio has high ceilings and
three big windows that look out into a park like setting.
It’s the bestest studio I have ever had!



How do you get from A to Z?
By singing the alphabet, of course.

What are your favorite tools?
My jeweler’s saw, hammers and well worn set of Swanstrom pliers.

What music do you listen to while you’re working?
I often work without music because it’s nice to listen to the sounds
outside. I find I concentrate better without it, too. I do listen to
classical on the local public radio station and jazz or world music
on WORT-FM 89.9 which is Madison’s community radio station.
If I ever get around to loading my i-pod it will have Laurie Anderson,
Beck, Janelle Monae, Cyndi Lauper, Brand New Heavies, Prince,
Mike Doughty, Angelique Kidjo, Harmonious Wail, Stevie Wonder
and English Beat on it.

What are the five best things you’ve purchased on Etsy
and where did you find them?
Please don’t hate me or kick me off the team, but I haven’t done
much shopping on Etsy. However, my favorite things include:
a really lovely handmade bag by rosybird and a vintage French
magazine style playbill for a nightclub featuring topless dancers
from VintageEye.



Read any good books lately?
I’m currently reading the Narnia series with my daughter, Bella.
I just read a collection of Dashielle Hammett’s fiction, which
I can’t believe I’ve never read before. The Thin Man movies with
Myrna Loy and William Powell are some of my favorite movies.

Been to any great exhibits?
The most recent one that comes to mind is the Chuck Close
exhibit that was at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
in 2006. His work makes my jaw drop to the ground in wonder
and amazement every time I see it. Seriously, how does he do
what he does?

Who inspires you?
My 87 year Tata Martha (French nickname for aunt).

Why?
My aunt has been through it all and still keeps on going with
a cigarette and a glass of wine. She still knits and can whip up
flawless cabled baby sweaters from memory. My mother told
her recently that I collect Vera scarves. This prompted her to
think she might have one from the days when
“we wore silk scarves with our wool suits.”
She found it, re-rolled and stitched the hems which had loosened
and sent it to me. Did I mention she’s 87? My Tata has more
energy and a sharper mind than many people I know.



What do you do for fun?
Crochet, shop flea markets and junk shops, tweet, hang with my
daughter when she’ll tolerate me, put my vast knowledge of
useless pop trivia to good use when Guy works on the New York
Times crossword puzzles.

Besides Etsy, where can we find your work?
Absolutely Art in Madison, WI has been a long time customer.
They are phenomenal at supporting local artists.
There is also a list of shops on my website.

How do you promote your work?
I’m trying to be a 21st century babe by doing a lot of tweeting and
Facebook-ing (hey, if google is a verb then so is facebook).
The Etsy teams I’ve joined and the blogs I follow have been helpful
in promoting, too. I have an email and postal mailing list from
doing art fairs for 12 years. Yes, I still mail post cards.
Yes, they work….really.



Have any words of wisdom?
It has taken me a long time to become disciplined about my
artwork. Creativity may be spontaneous, but it goes to waste if
you’re not prepared to do something with it. To quote Prince,
“there is joy in repetition”. So, dedicate a space to your craft and
dedicate time to it each day. The size of the space and the amount
of time isn’t the important thing. The discipline of creating,
brainstorming and visioning on a regular basis is important.
Holy cannoli, did I really just spout that bit of wisdom?

What’s in your future?
More coffee. More jewelry making. Fewer outdoor shows and
more indoor shows. More wholesale business and, hopefully,
more Etsy sales. But first, more coffee.

Blogs: flea-bitten
mycreativehustle

Feature Me Friday: Miss Courageous

This week we have Millie, the miss who IS
Miss Courageous , as well as Buckle Up, from Boise, ID.



All of the things she makes used to be something else.
It's been called upcycling, recycling, repurposing,
trash to treasure, trashion, eco-friendly, crafting green, re-use,
reinvent, redesign, etc...
She calls it "POP Jewelry & Accessories" -
As in pop caps, pop music, pop a lid, pop art, pop culture.



She's been creating as long as she can remember. She left art
school and ended up with a career in the cosmetic industry,
where most of her artistry skills were spent on faces. When she
left the cosmetic industry in 2004, she focused on making jewelry
and using found objects.


"BuckleUp just makes sense. Upcycled belt buckles to hold up your pants."

Feature Me Friday: Lake Erie Beach Glass

This week we have Jodie, the owner and designer of
Lake Erie Beach Glass from Erie, PA,
halfway between Cleveland, OH and Buffalo, NY.



Jodie started her journey with sea beach glass several years ago
while walking the local beaches with her family. They have
collected many unique items including sea beach glass and have,
in a sense, recycled these items into wearable pieces of art & more!



Sea Beach Glass is glass that was once a beautiful piece of tableware,
a bottle, or a dish that once served a purpose for man. For one reason
or another it was discarded and found it's way into the water where
nature refined this piece of trash by tumbling it into a beautiful,
smooth, gem. It has been given back us by nature where we can
find these beautiful pieces laying on the shores of our Lake!

Feature Me Friday: Anyone's Guess

This week for Feature Me Friday, we have Nancy of
Anyone's Guess from Forest Park, IL.

Who is Anyone's Guess?
I upcycle a variety of materials into creatively designed,
fun to wear jewelry.



What’s the first thing you remember making?
When I was in grade school, I made some stuffed animals for my
brother and myself from printed fabric patterns that I cut out,
sewed, and stuffed with old nylon stockings. That was also my first
use of recycled/upcycled material. I still have the stuffed horse I made.

Why work with recycled materials?
I inherited the recycling gene from my parents, who grew up during the Depression and taught me the value of thrift and re-use. As an adult, I became concerned about being a good steward of the earth’s resources. I also love the surprise of the unexpected- wearing trash. This is why I like using things that are still recognizable as trash, even though they have been transformed. It's a metaphor for life and reflects my belief - and my own experience - that God can transform
even our worst experiences.

Where do you work?
I work in a spare bedroom - a.k.a. 'the junk room' - for more reasons than one! I am always accumulating more "raw material," and have a hard time keeping up with organizing and storing everything.



How do you get from A to Z?
I start with something discarded and begin playing around. My workspace is usually pretty messy, so I'll see something lying out in the open and get an idea about how to use it, or what things might work together. Just sifting through things generates more ideas.

What are your favorite tools?
My chain nose pliers. I have them in my hands at one time or
another every time I work.

What music do you listen to while you’re working?
I prefer quiet; background music distracts me.

What are the best things you’ve purchased on etsy
and where did you find them?

"Trashion" bookmarker from naturemadescents

recycled record earrings from misscourageous

a bottle cap horse from embarkingdog (my favorite)

and my newest purchase, a recycled T-shirt scarf from ragsbysockmonkey



Read any good books lately?
Son of Hamas by Mosab Yousef; The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin;
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon; The Gift of Dyslexia by Ron Davis

Been to any great exhibits?
I enjoyed touring the American Precision Museum in Vermont
this summer. It's full of interesting early machine tools.

Who inspires you?
My grandmother. She had elocution lessons as a young girl and gave a recital. She talked about the fuss people made over her after her recital, but she never let it change her. At the age of 92 she performed a poem from memory that she had done over 70 years earlier. I hope I have that kind of energy and recall at 92!



What do you do for fun?
Read, sing with our church praise team, and of course, make jewelry!

Besides Etsy, where can we find you work?
I recently starting posting photos on Flickr, and I do a Christmas
show locally at Pleasant Home (house museum) in Oak Park, IL.

How do you promote your work?
Some of my pull tab earrings appeared in the August 2010 issue of
Greencraft Magazine. I also get some business from wearing my
work. I've found being part of the Etsy Trashion team a big help;
participating in our combined Earth Day sale helped me reach new
customers, and I'm currently participating in the Trashion team
promo. I'm also considering expanding my use of social media.



Have any words of wisdom?
Do what you love, do it wholeheartedly, and don't quit.

What’s in your future?
I'll continue to use a variety of upcycled materials in my work,
always looking for innovative ways to transform my trash into
someone else's treasure.